Clint Barmes

While using a broken collarbone as a reason to not play in a baseball game is legit, doing so because the injury occurred after falling down while carrying a bag of deer meat isn't.

After getting the hook-up from then teammate Todd Helton, former Colorado Rockies infielder Clint Barmes had this happen to him, leaving him beat up enough to be forced to the disabled list during his rookie season in 2005.

Monta Ellis

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Excuse: An injured ankle

Like a few other excuses on this list, the one given by current Dallas Mavericks guard Monta Ellis isn't paltry in its reasoning—an injured ankle is a valid reason—but it's how Ellis sustained the injury that is questionable.

After originally trying to convince his then employers, the Golden State Warriors, that he got hurt playing a pickup game, the truth came out that he actually got it from a moped accident.

And for 66 million reasons—as in dollars—Ellis lied to try to avoid punishment. It didn't work, as he was suspended 30 games for breach of contract.

Jose Cardenal

For anyone who has ever had a swollen or infected eye that has prevented them from either fully opening or closing it, you can probably sympathize with former MLB player Jose Cardenal.

Still, that doesn't mean the reason he missed a game back in 1974 wasn't wussy.

After sleeping funny and not being able to blink, Cardenal was scratched from the Opening Day lineup. Oh yeah, and this is the same guy who missed a game two seasons earlier because crickets in his hotel room had kept him awake all night.

Rickey Henderson

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Excuse: Frostbite

Former MLB outfielder Rickey Henderson might have been known for his speed during his 25-year career, holding the record for most stolen bases of any player in history, but he also had a moment that froze him up a bit—literally.

Chris Hanson

Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images

Excuse: Sliced Foot

In one of the more famous instances of a pro athlete being a bit too overzealous in getting motivated, former Jacksonville Jaguars punter Chris Hanson endured one of the weirdest injuries ever back in 2003.

As a slogan to help inspire his team, then Jags head coach Jack Del Rio used an axe and wood in the locker room as a metaphor to "keep chopping wood" to get the work done.

The bad part? Del Rio's punter took a swipe at the wood with the axe—and missed—leaving the punter with a gash on his non-kicking foot that kept him out for four to six weeks.

Rajon Rondo

Going to the University of Kentucky at the same time as Rajon Rondo, there was always something about him that just rubbed me the wrong way.

Maybe it was his smug attitude and self-entitlement?

And I'm sure it's the same thing Boston Celtics fans are feeling with Rondo, too—especially after seeing him allegedly miss a game a few weeks ago to celebrate his 28th birthday.

While the point guard insists it's not really the reason, he hasn't exactly come up with a better excuse—meaning he's still on the hook until he gives one that proves he wasn't blowing out the candles.